Tatarstan business resource "BUSINESS Online" published the material Timur Latypov "Stepson of the aviation industry: what prevents the revival of the Tu-214? Rustam Minnikhanov oversees the issue in manual mode, Muscovites are forced to attend meetings," which reports that, despite the statements of officials that the restoration of production of the Tu-214 passenger liner is a settled matter, disputes about the need for such a step do not subside. To give answers to numerous questions about this project, BUSINESS Online reconstructed the history of the creation of the aircraft. After talking with the people who built it and flew it, we learned a lot of unknown details - for example, how the national question broke KAZ's contract with Iran, after what news its director Vitaly Kopylov came down with a stroke and what kind of plane was imposed on Kazan instead of the Tu-214.
The first prototype of the Tu-214 aircraft (factory number 44524001, serial number 501, registration number RA-64501) built by the Kazan Aviation Plant in the first flight. Kazan, 21.03.1996 (c) Vladimir Buznitsky
How KAZ was left without a job
The history of the Tu-214 began in the late 1980s. On the eve of the collapse of the Soviet Union, it became clear that the Gorbunov KAPO (now the Kazan Aircraft Factory - a branch of Tupolev, KAZ) remains out of work. The main task for him has always been the construction of long-range bombers, and KAZ by that time had reached five Tu-160 per year, the modernization of the aircraft was being worked out. "And then the cliff: we agreed on something with the Americans - and the order was sharply reduced," Vladimir Buznitsky, a former deputy director of KAZ, told BUSINESS Online. In February 1990, at the board of the Ministry of Aviation Industry (MAP), they talked about the dangerous situation in the industry, KAZ director Vitaly Kopylov bitterly stated that it was going to stop the production of the Tu-160. The plant still had hope for the continuation of the construction of the Tu-22M3 bomber, especially since the commander-in-chief of the Air Force, Peter Deinekin, who visited the enterprise at that time, promised an order for 30 such machines. "But literally in 10 days everything changed," Buznitsky recalls. - Pyotr Stepanovich seemed to have forgotten about his promise. At a meeting in Moscow, he said that the production of the Tu-22M3 stops. Kopylov did not even immediately believe that the commander-in-chief could say such a thing."
In short, after 1990, there was no state order, and out of desperation, the director began to work out the possibility of loading the plant with civilian cars. There were four options. MAP offered the short-haul Tu-334, Ilyushin's company - Il-96-300, Kiev Antonov - wide-body An-218. The Tu-204 was also considered, the production of which had just been deployed at the Ulyanovsk Aircraft Factory (the first production car was rolled out on August 17, 1990). It was supposed to replace the Tu-154, 530 airliners were planned to be built before 2000. KAZ made a choice in favor of him. "How many years would it take Ulyanovsk to do this? Therefore, the idea was born to launch production in Kazan," Adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Nazir Kireev, who then supervised the corresponding program in the Government of Tatarstan, told BUSINESS Online. But Kopylov wanted a more advanced car than Ulyanovsk. The general designer of the Tu Valentin Klimov proposed to consider a promising program of the Tu-204-200, with a reinforced wing, landing gear and a slightly modified fuselage.
"At the final meeting to consider options for loading the plant, Kopylov said: "Guys, I'm not going to make this car by age, and you are young - do it. Ideologically, I am on your side and I will defend the project where necessary," recalls Buznitsky, who was appointed curator of the project at KAZ. In February 1992, the plant defended the conversion program, and in May, the decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the construction of the Tu-204-200 in Kazan was issued. They tried to reduce the cost of production, including at the expense of the plant's own resources, which had metal, equipment for other aircraft, which was also used, etc. The plant began to accept the first drawings from the Design Bureau in June 1992. We launched the production of parts, construction of slipways, plasovo-template work, and began assembling an experimental machine. The team cheered up, the plant came to life.
But at the beginning of 1994, the project hung by a thread. Anatoly Bratukhin, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Committee for Defense Industries, insisted that Kazan abandon the Tu-204-200 and take up the Il-96-300M. This is a variant of the Il-96-300 with a 7 m long fuselage and Pratt & Whitney engines. "He promised mountains of gold, promised American riveting machines, rearmament," Buznitsky recalls. - We stubbornly fought back: the plane is large, the series would hardly have exceeded 30 units. It is unprofitable to do it at two factories at once - in Voronezh and in Kazan." On February 17, Bratukhin and the general designer of the Ilyushin company, Henrikh Novozhilov, flew on an Il-96-300M to the factory to show the car. Later, the guests and the management of KAZ gathered at Kopylov's. He summed up: "As my colleagues decide, so it will be." The majority voted for the Tu-204-200. "Bratukhin was very indignant, yelled at everyone," says Buznitsky. - And Novozhilov spoke like this: "The decision of the team is reasonable and I understand. I'm late with my project, it's useless for me to do anything here." This closed the dispute."
And the next day Kopylov had a stroke. According to Buznitsky, this happened after Novozhilov tete-a-tete told the Kazan director about the recent agreement between US Vice President Albert Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. It is well known that it provided for the processing of at least 500 tons of Russian weapons-grade uranium into fuel for US nuclear power plants. But, according to Buznitsky, there was also a little-known part at that time concerning the division of the aviation market: Russia got helicopters, front-line aviation, light and regional aircraft, i.e. no heavy bombers and long-haul airliners… In April 1994, Kopylov decided to retire, and on February 9, 1995, he shot himself.
The main problem of the Tu-214 is "let it fly to the write-off"
The first Tu-204-200 was rolled out on February 3, 1996 under the leadership of General Director Yuri Litvinov, and on March 21 it was lifted into its first flight. Buznitsky estimates the costs of pre-production and production of the first machine at $146 million. He points to the help of Oleg Soskovets, who then held the post of first Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, thanks to whom the plant was allocated a loan of 55 billion rubles - this was equal to the cost of three boards. At the first stage of pre-production, it was planned to produce 7 aircraft per year, at the second - 12. But it was not possible to reach such a capacity. "The state did not show any interest," Buznitsky recalls. - Egor Gaidar directly stated that Russia does not need the aviation industry - they say, we will buy everything abroad for oil and gas. In a word, the work was neither shaky nor loose."
There was a threat that the project would be limited to an experimental aircraft - because of the red tape that appeared, certification tests could be delayed for an indefinite period. But the new CEO of KAZ Nail Khairullin, chief engineer Alexander Kravtsov and chief pilot Mikhail Kovbasenko, with the support of Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev, managed to achieve the transfer of certification from the Zhukovsky base of Tupolev to Kazan. As a result, they did it quickly and made the process cheaper. According to Kireev, Tatarstan paid for everything. The aircraft received a type certificate on December 29, 2000 with a new name - Tu-214. They decided to rebrand in order to break away from comparisons with Ulyanovsk (which was also the owner of the Tu-204): Tatarstan wanted its own passenger plane. Therefore, they even resigned themselves to the fact that certification of a new type is much more expensive than modifications of the old one.
The Khabarovsk airline Dalavia leased the first two serial Tu-214 in September 2001. Interestingly, the ex-mayor of Kazan Kamil Iskhakov flew on the starting flight (Kazan - Khabarovsk) to a new duty station - he was appointed presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District. Among other things, the Tu-214 flew to Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore. "Dalavia was delighted with the car," Buznitsky recalls. - There were no complaints about the plant, and we promptly eliminated any malfunction. At the initial stage, there were constructive problems with the mechanization of the wing and tail produced in Ulyanovsk, they were dealt with from the fourth machine. There were complaints about fuel consumption, the location of toilets (the layout was changed from the 7th aircraft). The company operated the machines for 17-18 hours a day, the annual flight time was about 4 thousand hours. There were very good reviews from the line, maintenance personnel and from the engineering service." The planes flew to Dalavia before the collapse of the carrier in 2009 (then they were operated by Aerostars for two years). Another Tu-214 was taken by Krasnoyarsk KrasAir in 2005, but it also went bankrupt in the same 2009.
Three planes in 2004-2010 flew in the airline "Russia". "The plane is good, and if the ground services are ready to operate it, the service was done without delay," Honored Russian pilot Leonid Leonov, who flies the Tu-214, told BUSINESS Online. "Our flights were more than four hours (Dushanbe, Ashgabat, Beijing, Delhi, Bombay, Tel Aviv and Ulan-Bator), and the Tu-214 is definitely profitable for them. For a passenger, the cabin is no different from Boeing or Airbus at all. They say that the disadvantage was a three-member crew (two pilots and a flight engineer - ed.), but the world still argues that it is better on long flights - two or three crew members. Experience shows that maybe three. Aeroflot puts a third pilot on many long-distance flights - it's safer this way. And the flight engineer is also prepared for all kinds of failures. In addition, all airlines have a rule: if one pilot leaves the cockpit, a senior flight attendant must take his place. This was decided after the incident when the commander left, and the co-pilot closed and sent the plane to the ground (the crash of the A320 of the German Germanwings in March 2015 - ed.). And this was not the only such story, it just got maximum publicity. It's better if it's not the conductor on duty… And the main problem of the Tu-214 was that it was born at the wrong time. In the 1990s, no one needed anything, and they decided that it was easier to buy imported, and let ours fly to the write-off. We have come to this final now."
According to Khairullin, thanks to leasing payments, the plant has improved its position. "The team put a lot of effort into the car," he told BUSINESS Online. "We lived by this plane."
Or maybe it was necessary to give "Tatarstan"?
The last buyer of the Tu-214 was the airline Transaero (went bankrupt in 2015) - three boards were transferred to it in 2007-2009. This story needs to be told in more detail. The Financial Leasing Company (FLK) and KAZ signed an agreement to supply Transaero with five Tu-214s with an option for five cars in February 2005. It was rumored that in exchange for loyalty to the Tu, the carrier was exempted from customs duties on the import of foreign airliners. Buznitsky claims that he had unofficial information about such an agreement directly from Transaero. According to him, the general director of the carrier Olga Pleshakova initially focused on foreign equipment. "It was immediately clear that she intended to put our planes against the wall," he says. - The attitude turned out to be biased: just not to pick up, to delay acceptance. The technical conditions for the delivery, the layout of the interior, the color chart were not agreed for a year. The slightest defect is already a call."
"Even despite the state subsidizing of the leasing rate, the aircraft turns out to be very expensive to operate," Pleshakova said in 2012. - He has very expensive units, which also often fail. Therefore, his plaque is low, which determines unprofitability." But a few years earlier, the management of Transaero spoke about the Tu-214 in completely different tones - the car sets records for the raid. According to the BUSINESS Online source, at times it reached 450 hours per month, and the units were cheaper than similar ones from Boeing and Airbus. At the same time, our interlocutor admitted that there were problems with the supply of spare parts due to the fact that the new management of the plant, for the sake of optimization, adopted the concept of a sharp reduction in techaptechki for flying boards. As a former KAZ test pilot told BUSINESS Online, in 2002-2007, the deputy general director for the operation and repair of aircraft, Vozikh Gaptrakhmanov, had no special complaints about the aircraft from the airlines. "The most painful problem is the long term repair of components," he says. - But it didn't work out any other way: there were not many planes, it was unprofitable for the pickers to produce pieces. But even so, the raid was provided at the level of imported liners."
As for "they were able to build only three," Kireev gave an explanation for this: "The rest of the planes were in line, but they said at the top: "Don't." Plus, Yeltsin's son-in-law Valery Okulov (in 1997-2009, the CEO of Aeroflot - ed.) broke through Boeing deliveries without import duties and VAT. That is, they artificially made it so that Russian planes could not be sold."
Magomed Zakarzhaev, the General director of Kazan Aviation Enterprise, and in the years described, the general director of Tatarstan Airlines (ACT), is sure that many problems with the promotion of the Tu-214 could have been avoided if the car had been given to the republican carrier. Initially, it was thought that the first three Tu-214s would go to the Tatarstan Airline. "At that time there were almost no new or used Boeing and Airbus," he told BUSINESS Online. - And the Tu-214 against the background of the Tu-154, Il-62, Tu-134 looked economically very good. We drew up a business plan: it turned out that only at the expense of taxes to all types of budgets, we returned the money that had to be spent on the construction of these aircraft for 5.5 years. A big plus was the Tupolev plant nearby. He could promptly analyze malfunctions and make corrections right in Kazan." Buznitsky supports these arguments, but, according to him, the cup in favor of Khabarovsk was tilted by the technical training of ground personnel and the availability of long-distance routes. Zakarzhaev does not agree with these arguments: "I am sure we would have mastered these planes. And as for the routes, the answer is simple: they would fly to the same place as Khabarovsk residents. By purchasing the IL-86, we proved that if there are planes, there are no problems with the geography of flights. But another decision was made."
As Khairullin says, the FLC determined who to supply the planes to. Our sources claim that the cars were transferred to Khabarovsk in order to raise this company with live money. FLK is, of course, a separate exciting story. It was established in 1997 by the Ministry of Land and Property of the Republic of Tatarstan, Tatneft, ZENIT Bank and Solid Investment and Financial company as the lessor of KAZ aircraft. "We were thinking about how to actually sell planes," says Kireev. - After all, then airlines simply could not afford to buy such airliners." In 2001, the controlling stake (58%) of FLK passed to Rosimushchestvo, and in 2007 it became part of the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, controlled 89.31%). The further history of FLK is a series of scandals with the withdrawal of money, murder and flight to the UK of top managers. In 2012, she was declared bankrupt.
Why was the Tu-214 "hacked"?
The chance for the Tu-214 could be Iran, which was considering buying 50 sides. "For 7 years I have been going to this contract," Khairullin says. - We flew there on a Tu-214, and I was in the cabin describing the charms of the car to the chief pilot of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the head of the export council. They all tried to compare it with the Tu-204, but I managed to convince them. We signed a preliminary agreement for 20 sides. Ahmadinejad wrote a letter to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin asking him to support Iran's relations with the aircraft factory. A little more and... then no one would have been able to close the project."
Why did the negotiations not lead to a result? There are several points of view. According to Kireev, pressure from above forced them to stop. Buznitsky points to the prohibition of Americans who had a controlling stake in Perm Motors, which produced PS-90A engines. BUSINESS Online sources believe that there was a set of reasons, and the last straw that put an end to communication with Iran was that Moscow sent "a person of the wrong nationality" to the decisive negotiations. There is an opinion that this was done intentionally.
In April 2010, Alexey Fedorov, then president of the UAC, said that it was decided to stop the production of the Tu-214 due to the high cost and lack of orders. "The reason for the termination of the production of passenger Tu-214 is the invasion of Western aircraft, new and used, at reasonable prices, with the inclusion of banking mechanisms to stimulate these sales and permission to register vessels outside of Russia," former KAZ CEO Vasil Kayumov said in an interview with BUSINESS Online. - A green street was created so that they could enter the country. Let's also recall the statement of the then President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev after the Yak-42 disaster in 2011 in Yaroslavl that if their own aircraft manufacturers are not able to unwind, it is necessary to buy equipment abroad. Let's recall the actions of other high officials. I told one of them: "Help the airlines to purchase an airplane, I will make every effort to ensure that everything is fine with the operation." He asks how much the board will cost. I answer that about $ 35 million. To which he rolled out his lip: "Well, Kayumov, I'd rather buy three used Boeing." They did not want to see that this money remains in the country, returned in the form of taxes. So other projects like the Tu-204CM were ruined. Of course, buying imported is less troublesome than building your own."
Fortunately for KAZ, back in 2004-2005, he managed to win the competition from Ulyanovsk for the construction of boards for the special flight detachment "Russia" (now there are about 15 Tu-214 different modifications), serving the country's top officials. The Defense Ministry also paid attention to the plane. "He was chosen purely for technical characteristics, and the decisive factor was the increased range," says our source. After that, special Tu-214 began to be ordered by special services. Today, 1-2 such cars are rented per year.
This thin trickle allowed the President of Tatarstan and the chairman of the Board of Directors of Tupolev, Rustam Minnikhanov, to raise the issue of restarting the production of passenger Tu-214 today, after the rupture of Russia's relations with the world aviation industry. The offer is accepted.
Should I believe the statements of officials?
Opponents of the decision to revive the Kazan airliner claim that the Tu-214 is hopelessly outdated. Buznitsky does not agree with this: "As a glider, it is not outdated. The wing is exceptionally successful, friends from TsAGI told how the Americans asked to be given the theory of his profile." Leonov reminds that not only the airframe is good, some ideas of the Tu-214 are used in the Superjet and MS-21. He points out that Russia still adheres to the global aviation development plan, so both avionics and software are undergoing changes. As for the three-member crew, then, according to him, nothing prevents switching to only two pilots - such a cabin is implemented by Ulyanovsk on the Tu-204CM. According to our sources, developments on this modification are being implemented in the new Tu-214.
What about the fact that the PS-90A engine is inferior to imported analogues in terms of overhaul life and efficiency? According to Leonov, the Russian engine is more voracious by about 10%, but, according to the pilot, in the current situation it is not critical: planes are needed urgently; there is no one to lose in efficiency inside the country, besides, we produce fuel ourselves; they are not going to buy Tu-214 abroad. And if we compare with the operation of Boeing and Airbus, the increased fuel consumption is compensated by the difference in the cost of maintenance and spare parts. In addition, the PS-90A has been finalized and continues to be improved. And most importantly, according to Leonov, children's diseases have already been eliminated on the Tu-214. The pilot points out that according to its characteristics, the liner "closes" almost the entire country. One of our sources agrees with him: the Tu-214 niche in Russia is not occupied, and it is unknown when it will be closed by other airliners. He is sure that the fully Russian Superjet New and MS-21 are utopia: about 30% there will still be imported; and the stated delivery date for these types (2023-2024) is nothing more than a declaration. Our interlocutor says that he will not be surprised if the Tu-214 eventually becomes the main Russian airliner. By the way, according to Buznitsky, the Tu-214 imported only an inertial navigation system, an air collision warning system and an ozonator. "You could have done your own thing, but the fashion for stuffing foreigners affected," he assures and clarifies that there are no foreign components in the Tu-214 for state structures.
KAZ's readiness raises questions. "Before, there were more people, and the qualifications with labor productivity were much higher," Buznitsky states. "It is necessary to deal with people," Kayumov emphasizes. - Today there is a personnel cycle in the Aircraft Building district of Kazan, but these workers running between three factories will not solve the problem. Tomorrow they will be lured by a slightly longer ruble by the KMPO - they will switch there." At the same time, one of our sources urges us to be critical of the talk that KAZ is a backward slipway assembly, and Superjet and MS-21 are progressive "slipway": "There is no digital industrial aircraft production in Russia. There are quite ugly forms of it. Yes, we learned how to draw drawings on a computer, and then everything goes back to the original version. The parts are made through a digit, and the digital layout is not launched into the production technology. No one has what should have been done, not even Sukhoi and Irkut. On Aviastar, there is simply a modernized slipway equipment, which for some reason is called a production line. Yes, we took a step forward, but only by half a step. And now the sanctions have cut it off altogether. Intellectual property objects are abroad. We can digitalize, but there are no programs for the whole process. Therefore, we will build in a mixed form, hence the long time. In a word, Kazan should not bother: to the task set before it, it must go the way that already exists, otherwise the matter will drag on."
The management of Rostec stated that KAZ should produce 70 Tu-214 by 2030. So far, only 20 cars have been talked about: three in 2023, 7 in 2024, 10 in 2025. BUSINESS Online sources in the aviation industry say that even three planes in 2023 is an impossible task. The construction cycle of the Tu-214 is at least 24 months, but there is no metal or components yet. There are only two slipways, we need to build at least one more. In April, Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan Alexey Pesoshin said that there is no detailed program for the release of the Tu-214 yet. In mid-June, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Yuri Borisov stated that it takes 3-5 years to launch serial production of Russian airliners. Therefore, our interlocutors are confident that the first cars delivered by KAZ will be restored used boards. Indirectly, this is confirmed by the proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation dated June 23 to allocate 15.4 billion rubles to restore the airworthiness of 11 Tu-204/Tu-214, Il-96 and An-124.
According to known data, of the 12 serial Tu-214, the first two were cut, one was converted into a flying laboratory, three were transferred to a special flight squad. There are 6 cars left: 2004, 2005, 2006 (two), 2008 and 2009. According to a BUSINESS Online source, it was decided to raise some of the planes that are on the KAZ and at the Kazan International Airport. "They have a designated resource - for 30 years, plus we will take into account that they did not fly for so long," says Leonov. - The first Tu-204s were restored."
What all our interlocutors agree on is that in order to resume the construction of the Tu-214, it is necessary to change the management methods of the plant and the industry. "In theory, it is possible to restore," says Gaptrakhmanov. - But, alas, everyone immediately starts counting how much you can earn on this. The task of the current managers is not to lift the plane into the air, but to make everything go smoothly financially. 70 cars have been announced until 2030! But we have lost the entire supply chain of materials and components. It is impossible to restore it quickly, because there is no competent coordinating body and everything is regulated so that nothing works." "It can be restored if the feat is accomplished," says Kayumov. - This is a super task. It was difficult then, but now it is doubly so. And in general, I take all these statements skeptically, because they are made by those people who put obstacles to the Russian aviation industry yesterday."
According to the source "BUSINESS Online", the first stage of pre-production of the Tu-214 will cost 2 billion rubles. Minnikhanov oversees the issue in manual mode. He holds meetings twice a week: one in Kazan, where all responsible people come, the second in Moscow, with the participation of the Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov. "He is forced to go to meetings on one plane," says our source. - That's right. There is no other way."
Another of our interlocutors is sure that it is possible to make a plan of 70 cars only if we put production on military rails: "We need to realize that the time is wartime, and act accordingly: said - done. This is still not understood. As a joke: when a military gives a command, they then report to him how it was done, and when a civilian - why it was not done. But if we apply military principles, it will work."
